A
motorist was rescued from a stranded car on Brean beach last night
by Burnham Coastguards and a BARB hovercraft after he got stuck
in mud and soft sand.

Crews
were called to Brean beach at 5pm after a Ford Galaxy with two
adults, a baby and two dogs became trapped in the mud with a fast-incoming
tide nearby.

Brean's
beachwarden raised the alarm after seeing the vehicle in difficulty
several hundred metres down the beach.

Since
the driver had mobility problems, BARB's Light of Elizabeth was
tasked by Coastguards to fly out to the vehicle and safely take
the man back up the beach to safety.

Crews
then set about winching the stricken vehicle out of the mud before
the rapidly-incoming tide could reach it.

The
family, who are on holiday from the West Midlands, thanked the
crews and said they would be making a donation to cover the costs.

Beachwarden
Dave Furber added: "It was a race against the incoming tide
to safely rescue the man and the vehicle before the sea reached
it. The family were really grateful."

It
is the second vehicle in a week to get stuck at Brean after a
campervan became stranded by the incoming tide on Sunday, as we
reported here.

A
Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard spokesman said: "Please be careful
when driving on the beach - even 4x4s get stuck on a regular basis,
so stay along the top of the beach and do not risk yourselves
or your vehicle."

BARB's
Operations Manager Mike Lowe added: "We retrieve vehicles
when we can to avoid people putting their lives in danger by trying
to recover them from dangerous locations. Our advice to motorists
is to keep to the top of the beach and to check the tide times
in advance."

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